X-CUBE 071800v.1.i.3: Empowering Small, Minority, and Women-Owned Firms with Marketing Insights and Industry Updates

X-CUBE 071800v.1.i.3

Marketing Know-how: Put your good news to work for you!

Diversity in New Jersey: Who Knew?

Marketing Article: Dazzle ‘Em with Power Point

Diversity News: Harlem is the NEXT BIG THING (digitally &
architecturally speaking)

Cyber scene: Events & Factoids

Industry Events

Non-Industry Events

1.

Have good news about a recently completed project? Get post cards
made (1000 for $145 at http://www.modernpostcards.com)
with a picture of the project on the front and an announcement of an award,
a quote from the client, or positive facts on the back. Your clients and
colleagues want to know about the good work you’re doing. They also want to
know that their consultant (you) brings good news to the table.

2.

Has someone in your firm earned a «high-five» (enjoyed a
recent, major accomplishment)? Write a press release and send it to
relevant publications. Accomplishments include professional awards,
fund-raising successes for non-profit organizations, appointments to a board
of directors, promotions, getting a patent for a new product, or noteworthy.
Your staff is your greatest commodity and you need to help them celebrate
and communicate their success.

3.
Your clients love their projects to win awards. Every industry or
building type has a complimentary facility association (Examples include:
The Society for College and University Planning, American Society for
Healthcare Engineering, or the New York Landmarks Conservancy). They usually
have an awards program or a spread in their newsletter/magazine to highlight
quality work. Make your clients happy by researching their industry, finding
an awards program for facilities and submitting your project for an award.

New Jersey statutes require that a minimum of 25% of the total number of
State contracts and purchase orders be allocated to Small, Minority and
Female Businesses. The Office of Small Business, in conjunction with the
Department of the Treasury, has defined the standards for such set-aside
contracts. The Office of Small Business verifies the eligibility of
businesses that apply. This is intended to provide encouragement and
incentive to small/minority/female business owners and to promote a spirit
of active competition.

The law stipulates the following set-aside goals:

15% of State contracts for Small Businesses;

7% of State contracts for Minority Businesses;

3% of State contracts for Female Businesses.

Visit http://www.state.nj.us/commerce/swmb/smvreg.htm
for more information or call: (609)292-2146.

It’s everywhere you look: trade shows, boardrooms, events – you name it.
It’s one of the most used, most important, yet least mastered of all
marketing tools. And you are probably sick of seeing it by now. What am I
talking about? It’s the ubiquitous and often dreaded PowerPoint
presentation.

We have a love-hate relationship with PowerPoint – when used well (as
infrequently as that may be), it can be the consummate communication tool,
assisting the seasoned entrepreneur in driving home key points and making
the close. For the overwhelming majority of users, however, PowerPoint is a
lethal tool, eviscerating the enthusiasm of your audience and engendering
yawns, boredom and blank stares.

PowerPoint’s charm, and ultimate downfall, is in its deep and rich set of
easy-to-use features. Pretty much anyone who can use a computer can create a
PowerPoint presentation with little or no training – which is painfully
obvious to all of us who have recently sat through one. So in an effort to
relieve the boredom in sales presentations, venture-capital pitches,
trade-show seminars, and working meetings around the world, I hope to offer
some easy and simple tips to turn dreary PowerPoint presentations everywhere
into dazzling, crisp, even inspirational communication vehicles.

What is it you want your audience to think, feel, or do when you are
done? Often people confuse this question with «What is it you want
to say?» Believe it or not, these two questions can be mutually
exclusive, so start by asking yourself how you want the audience to feel
when you are done and work backwards. Another tip: Think of how you feel
after presentations when audience members just want to talk at you, not to
or with you; don’t do this to your audience.

Understand your audience. Who are the people in the meeting, and what
is their collective experience or state of mind on the subject you are
presenting? The answer to this question is critical to gauging the level of
the information being presented and tailoring your message appropriately.
And remember that one size does not fit all – make sure the presentation is
specifically tailored to the group you are giving it to.

Conduct your presentation from the front of the room. More than half
of all presentations would be improved just by having the presenter in the
front of the room talking to the audience with the presentation projection
behind them. This keeps the audience from toggling back and forth between
you and the presentation or, worse yet, staring blankly at the screen for
your entire chat. The trick here is to position the laptop with the
presentation in front of you so you can see the presentation and stay on
course. It’s your job as the presenter to make sure you set up the room in
advance, even if you are not on home turf.

Keep the layout simple. Fancy backgrounds, trims, big logos, multiple
typefaces, etc., are presentation killers. They distract the audience from
the point of the presentation, which is the content. Regardless of your
corporate colors, my suggestion for all your presentations is to use a
simple blue background, white type, and no more than four or five bullet
points per page. A small company ID logo in the lower or upper corner of
each page can help brand it a bit. Keep graphs, charts and pictures simple
and clean with very few words and numbers.

If at any point in your presentation you have to apologize for a slide
because it’s too hard to read, dump the slide. This may sound harsh and
generic, but it works. And a word about all those sexy special-effects
features: Just because a feature exists doesn’t mean you have to use it;
fades, wipes, builds, sound, etc. – lose ‘em.

Stories have a beginning, middle and end. Why should yours be
different? How many presentations have you sat through where it takes the
presenter four, five, or sometimes six or more slides just to tell you what
it is the presenter’s company does? Most PowerPoint presentations wander
aimlessly while trying to follow some logical progression. Creating an
agenda for your presentation will help organize it. But start by describing
who you are, tell people why and how you do what you do, and then end your
presentation with a call to action or reasonable conclusion that wraps the
entire package together and makes a point. While terribly cliché, remember
the adage «tell them what you’re going to tell them, tell them, and
then tell them what you told them.»

Stick to the script, stay focused, and don’t freelance. So often
PowerPoint slides and what the speaker is saying seem to be from two
different presentations. The slides are there to support the presentation
and the speaker. Don’t drift and lose focus because it will cause your
audience to do the same.

Twelve slides, one minute per slide. This is a good rule of thumb.
Try to wow your audience in 15 minutes or less, then let audience members
ask the questions they want answered.

Practice, edit and revise. Most presentations sound like they are
being given for the first time – in case you are wondering, that’s not a
good thing. You don’t have to be a great speaker to give a good
presentation; rehearsals are an important part of building confidence and
improving delivery. It also gives you the chance to see how the presentation
comes together (especially with an audience giving constructive input) and
an opportunity to revise and improve your presentation prior to having your
real audience in the house.

Welcome to HIWay 125, Upper Manhattan’s Highway to the Future!

(Before you read on, remember that new industries + underdeveloped
neighborhoods = design and construction projects. Now is the time for
strategic business development.)

In early April, The Upper Manhattan Empowerment
Zone («UMEZ» <http://www.umez.org/>) was
designated by the City of New York to carry out a plan that would create a
‘technology district’ in Upper Manhattan. The result is HIWay 125 – Harlem
Internet Way 125 Technology District, located on the 125th Street corridor
from Second to 12th Avenues in Harlem.

Fueled by continued public and private investment, the 125th Street
corridor is in the midst of an extraordinary economic revitalization. Its
already large base of more than 900 establishments, including over 60 eating
and drinking places, will increase substantially in the next few years with
the opening of Harlem U.S.A. and other development projects. The corridor is
in close proximity to the midtown and downtown business districts; is
accessible by bus, subway, commuter rail, and automobile; has commercial and
industrial buildings with relatively inexpensive space to rent; benefits
from dramatically improved security; is surrounded by three historic
districts and the largest stock of brownstones in the City; and, at its
western end, is immediately adjacent to Columbia
University <http://www.hiway125.com/partners.htm>and City
College of New York <http://www.hiway125.com/partners.htm>.

The Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone has teamed up with strategic
partners to help make this district one of the centers for technological
advancement. The credibility, contacts, and resources of our partners
greatly enhance the HIWay 125’s likelihood of success. The two academic
institutions that flank the western end of the district, Columbia University
and City College of New York, can be catalysts for economic development,
providing student and faculty expertise and extraordinary opportunities for
technology transfer. Both have excellent engineering schools and Columbia
University led all American research universities in technology licensing
income this past year. In addition, Columbia’s School of the Arts, which
already occupies space on West 125th Street, is exploring the expansion of
its new media programs and facilities.

Two partners, the New York City Investment Fund
(the Fund <http://www.hiway125.com/partners.htm>)
and Davis Creek Capital (DCC)
<http://www.hiway125.com/partners.htm>, will,
together with the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone, provide capital to
high-tech business. The Fund will provide access to equity and debt
financing and extensive networking opportunities; in addition, it will
assist in the creation of an incubator and a 24/7 business environment in
the district. DCC is a recently established private equity fund focused on
investing in early stage technology companies. In addition, North General
Hospital will encourage health-related technology companies to relocate to
HIWay 125.

Connectivity and telecommunications services will be provided by three
partners: Consolidated Edison Communications, Inc.
(CEC) <http://www.hiway125.com/partners.htm>, AppliedTheory
Corporation, Inc. (AT <http://www.hiway125.com/partners.htm>),
and AT&T Communications (AT&T)
<http://www.hiway125.com/partners.htm>. CEC, an affiliate
of Consolidated Edison Inc., is a wholesale provider of bandwidth to retail
service providers, such as ISPs. AT, an affiliate of NYSERnet, is a proven
Internet service provider offering a range of services to more than 1,000
commercial customers. AT&T Communications shall provide
telecommunications services, including local, long-distance, wireless, data,
and Internet services, network management services, and offer competitive
pricing for companies located in HIWay 125.

Finally, our three real estate partners, 3280
Broadway Realty Company, Janus Property Company <http://www.hiway125.com/affiliatebrokers.htm>,
and Giscombe Henderson Real Estate
<http://www.hiway125.com/affiliatebrokers.htm>, will
provide up to 100,000 square feet of space for high-tech companies.

b2bdiversity.com
offers an Internet-based community and e-commerce solutions for women,
minority, and small/disadvantaged owned businesses who want to increase
their visibility in order to connect with Fortune 2000 companies. We assist
Fortune 2000 companies with their outreach initiatives to reach qualified
vendors, increase visibility and achieve diversity procurement goals.
Founded in July 1999 in Philadelphia, PA., b2bdiversity.com is a
woman-led company whose goal is to open doors for women, minority, and
small/disadvantaged owned businesses by leveling the playing field, starting
in the procurement arena.

The Next breakfastnetwork.com Event Will Take Place
on July 25th!

New York’s most popular Internet and new media
monthly breakfastnetwork.com

seminar series for Internet and new media
executives continues on July 25th.

breakfastnetwork.com brings together top executive
panelists who will

explore the timely issue of wireless Internet
communications. Speakers from

Ericsson and Doubleclick will join the panel to
look at how these new

technologies are changing the Internet, and how
e-commerce is taking place

through these devices. breakfastnetwork.com will be
held at the Bryant Park

Grill (25 West 40th Street, behind the Public
Library.)

You can register for this event now through secure
online registration at

<http://www.breakfastnetwork.com> or
by calling:(212) 425-0505.

C.
A study by ActivMedia Research detailing
online promotional activity shows that businesses will spend over $13
billion to promote their Web businesses. Online marketers that target
consumers have budgeted $5.8 billion for Year 2000 site promotion, while
B-to-B sites have allocated $5.4 billion and Media/ Portal/ Information/
Publishing sites have appropriated $1.5 billion. Of this, 30% of the funds
are allocated to online promotion. The remainder of the budget is allocated
for promoting websites through more traditional media outlets such as print,
television and radio.For more information, contact Tim Selby at TSelby@ActivMediaResearch.com,
or call 603/924-9100 Ext.125 http://www.ActivMediaResearch.com

Computer Model Mapping of Manhattan’s Skyscraper Districts. Location:
100 Maiden Lane. Wednesday, 07/19/2000, 6:00-8:00 P.M. Sponsored by:
Skyscraper Museum. Description: This event will also take place on Thursday
July 27, 2000. Speakers: Brian McGrath & Mark Watkins. Reg. Tel: (212)
968-1961. Member Price: Free. Nonmember Price: Free

Energy Department and The American Institute of Architects Announce
«Sun Wall» National Design Competition for DOE Headquarters
Building $20,000 Prize for Design of Largest Federal Government Building
Solar Energy Installation in the World The winning design will be selected
by an eminent jury of architects, design professionals and solar energy
experts. The contest will close on August 1, 2000, with the winning design
scheduled to be announced during Energy Awareness Month 2000 in October. The
winning design team will be awarded a $20,000 cash prize. DOE and the AIA
jointly established the rules for the competition and determined the award
categories. Criteria for the contest, design specifications, rules of entry
and registration materials will be available on March 1 on the Sun Wall
Design competition website at www.doe-sunwall.org
<http://www.doe-sunwall.org/> or by contacting Dr.
E. Jackson, Jr. ejackson@aia.org The American Institute of
Architects, 1735 New York Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20006-5292, (202)
626-7446

Blacklines Magazine will continue its intriguing networking/seminar
series with Black Architects: the New Generation in New York.
Thursday, July 20, 2000 at 6pm. Panelists: Jayne Merkel, Oculus Magazine
Editor; Susan Szesany, Metropolis Magazine Editor; Taneshia Laird, Author
and Publisher, The M and M Group; Atim Annette Oton, Blacklines. Location:
Consulting for Architects, 236 Fifth Avenue, Ninth Floor, New York, NY (Near
28th Street), Trains N and R to 23th Street, Telephone: (212) 532-4360, RSVP
by July 18, 2000, Cost: $15 per seminar (payable at the event)

DesigNation3: DesignMinds 2000 Conference Scheduled for Los Angeles –
Contact: Bill Browne 202-488-1530 Web: http://www.DesigNation.net
DesigNation®, the Organization of Black Designers Multidiscipline &

Multicultural Design Conference announces its fourth National Conference
– DesigNation3: DesignMinds – October 2000, Los Angeles. The International
Design Conference is expected to attract 5,000 attendees and a variety of
corporate exhibitors.

AIA Diversity Conference 2000 – Chicago, IL, August 4-6, 2000 –
Diversity Committee – PIA Information Line 800-242-3837 pia@aia.org
<mailto:pia@aia.org>

Diversity Expo. Organizer: www.diversityexpo.com
<http://www.diversityexpo.com> Wednesday, July 19, 12:00
pm. Place: The Manhattan Center, 311 West 34th Street (between 8th & 9th
Ave.) Cost: It’s Free. More details: http://www.alleyevent.com/ae/alley.nsf/l/EA82

Development Opportunity – The New York City Economic Development
Corporation (EDC), on behalf of the City, today issued a Request for
Proposals (RFP) for the development and operation of a restaurant/cafe that
will be part of the new National Lighthouse Center and Museum in Staten
Island. There will be an informational meeting about the site on Wednesday,
August 23. For details about the meeting or to request a complete RFP
package, call (212) 312-3969, or e-mail info@newyorkbiz.com, referring to
NLM-0600 in the subject line. Proposals are due by 3 p.m., October 16, 2000.
Visit www.newyorkbiz.com <http://www.newyorkbiz.com>
for a full description.

The American Woman’s Economic Development Corporation (AWED) is
holding a breakfast on “Networking by Using the Internet.” The breakfast
will be held on Wednesday, August 9th, from 8:30 – 10:00 a.m. at 216 E. 45th
Street (between 2nd and 3rd Avenues), 10th floor in Manhattan. Admission is
$10 for AWED members and $15 for nonmembers. For more information and to
register call (917) 368-6100.

If you have any comments, suggestions, or if you have an events that you
would like us to include in X-CUBE, please email Elizabeth Geary-Archer at
ega@outoftheboxmarketing.net